Fruits of the Spirit: Final Bite

GOODNESS:

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6) The Lord is good and righteous, and we must seek to be good. Goodness has a drawing power that commands respect. It is neither manipulative nor untrustworthy.

FAITHFULNESS:
“Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” (Psalm 36:5) The Lord’s faithfulness is greater that we can imagine. This quality helps us stay loyal to friends, family, and to God because He is watching for those who will be faithful to Him forever. 
 

GENTLENESS:

"With gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25) We must handle opposition with gentleness instead of condemnation. This is a divine characteristic because it is easy to fight with others when we are trying to help them. We must be gentle and understanding when we are trying to establish a relationship with another person.

SELF-CONTROL:
“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28) We all need self-control in order to resist the temptations of this world. We need to learn how to walk in the Spirit in order to not give into the temptations that come our way each day.

                       

Now that I know what the fruits are, what do I do now?

You grow in Christ, and allow the fruits of the spirit to be visible in your life. The fruits of the spirit are the natural overflow of a life spent focused on God and how He wants us to live. So do your best to live for God each day, and allow the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your life to influence those around you.

 

-Andrea Niles, National Acteens Panelist